By Paul Gotham
ROCHESTER, NY – After starting 2012 with just two wins in their first dozen games, the Syracuse Salt Cats won six of their final ten regular-season contests to earn a spot in the New York Collegiate Baseball League playoffs. A pair of one-run losses to the eventual league champion ended the summer for the Salt Cats.
That is how close the Cats came to making a run at the top of the league.
With a trio from Ave Maria, one familiar name and a local product, the Salt Cats will vie for the NYCBL crown in 2013.
Ray Messner, Tucker Starkey and Conor Sullivan will all come to the NYCBL from Ave Maria University, an NAIA school in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Sullivan has made 36 appearances (31 starts) for the Gyrenes. He is hitting .274 in 113 appearances this spring, but it is his combination of offense and defense that has pro scouts already inquiring about the sophomore.
Sullivan has thrown out 19 of 34 baserunners this year along with five pickoffs from behind the plate.
“He is a gamer, no doubt,” Ave Maria head coach Shawn Summe said recently by phone. “He physically has a body that impresses you. He’s got the arm strength. He’s a tough kid. He’s a competitor and wants to win.”
Sullivan’s registers a POP time between 1.9 and 2.0 combined with being a 6.9 -7.0 runner. He has three stolen bases in four attempts.
“He’s impressed scouts with his arm strength and his ability to run,” Summe added. “He’s a guy that can make things happen. He handles the bat well enough where he can bunt for a base hit or hit and run.”
Sullivan will be joined by college teammates Starkey and Messner.
Starkey has made 33 starts as a utility player for Ave Maria. In 111 plate appearances he has five extra base hits and has scored 28 runs for the Sun Conference team.
“He’s just an athlete,” Summe said when praising the junior from Mayfield, Kentucky. “He is physically, pound for pound our best athlete. He’s a beast in the weight room, a guy who gets after it.”
Messner’s 17 appearances on the mound rank second but his ERA of 1.67 leads the Gyrenes. Against Barry University, a powerful Division II school, Messner came in and retired all six batters he faced. He has struck out 25 while allowing just five walks and opponents are hitting .173 against the sophomore.
“He’s been lights out with a great slider and a fast ball in the mid 80s.”
The three from Ave Maria will be joined by Cristian Fiorito (Concordia) and Bo Watson (St. Bonaventure).
Fiorito is the younger brother of former NYCBL All-Star Danny Fiorito. Cristian is hitting .300 in 87 at bats for the Concordia Clippers. The 6-4 sophomore has three home runs with 16 RBI and 17 runs scored. Playing first base and outfield he has a fielding percentage of .955 on 67 chances.
Older brother Danny was signed as a free agent by the New York Yankees.
Coming out of the bullpen for the Bonnies, Watson has made two appearances this spring. Last year he went 3-0 with an ERA of .60 for Onondaga Community College. His 14 saves led the nation.
The Salt Cats dropped a pair of 7-6 decisions to the Syracuse Jr. Chiefs in the 2012 NYCBL East Division semi-finals. The Salt Cats cross-town rival went on to take the league crown sweeping the Geneva Red Wings and Niagara Power. The Jr. Chiefs were led by Ave Maria’s current leading hitter Alex Sanchez, Jr.
The Salt Cats open 2013 on the road against the Jr. Chiefs on June fourth. A 1 p.m. first pitch is scheduled at Hopkins Road. The Cats host their Salt City rival at Falcon Park, Friday the seventh for a 6:30 p.m. start.
Founded in 1978, the NYCBL is a summer wood-bat league which provides eligible student-athletes the opportunity to develop skills over the course of two months in Upstate New York. Current major league players Tim Hudson, Hunter Pence and John McDonald all spent a summer playing in the NYCBL. Twenty-one former NYCBL players heard their names called during the 2012 MLB draft.
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